The Girls in the Snow (Nikki Hunt #1) - Stacy Green Page 0,71
about.”
“Then why are you going around asking about your blood test? And hanging out with his brother?”
“Excuse me?”
“You didn’t think I’d find out about that? Stillwater’s still a small town, and I’ve got connections everywhere. People think you’re trying to butter up Rory because you’re afraid your reputation’s going to be ruined.”
Nikki had been stupid to think John had changed. He was still the same guy who wanted to keep control. But she wasn’t the same insecure girl who dutifully gave in to him.
“I have zero worries about my reputation. I just want to make sure the right man is in prison.”
“You know he is, for Christ’s sake. Rory’s manipulating you to feel sorry for his brother.”
“That’s not what he’s doing.”
“Then what is it? Why are you hanging out with him instead of looking for Maddie’s killer? Are you that hard up for a man’s attention? Just like old times, then.”
Nikki bristled. John’s demeanor had changed so quickly, but something about his reaction felt normal to her. “We have reason to believe Janelle might have been drugged. Would you know anything about that?”
Liam stiffened but didn’t call her bluff.
“Why?” John snapped. “Because I work at a pharmaceutical company?”
Nikki stared at him, letting the implication linger.
John’s face reddened, a flicker of nerves in his eyes. “Get out of my office.”
Nikki stood, turned on her heel and walked out with Liam beside her. Her hands trembled with anger. How had she forgotten John’s manipulative side? Nikki knew exactly how to deal with people like him, but she’d allowed him to back her into a corner.
Liam walked in silence next to her until they reached the elevator. “What’s this about drugs?”
She didn’t want to tell him about her conversation with Rory, especially after John’s accusation. “Just a hunch. I wanted to see his reaction.”
“You definitely ticked him off,” Liam said. “Why didn’t you put him in his place for talking to you like that?”
Nikki pushed the button and then shoved her hands in her pockets. She couldn’t meet Liam’s gaze. “I did.”
“Did you not hear him imply something was going on between you and Rory? Or that you weren’t doing your job?”
“John thrives on the power he gets from drawing people into arguments and then twisting things around to be their fault. I’m not going to give him the satisfaction.” Nikki wished she believed her own reasoning.
“Is that what he was like when you two dated?”
“Yes, and it appears he hasn’t changed all that much.”
“You do realize he’s scared of you, right?” Liam asked as the doors opened. “Maybe he used to manipulate you out of insecurity or whatever, but he’s scared of you. He knows you have the power to make his life miserable.”
“Only if he’s done something.” Nikki changed the subject before her emotions overwhelmed her. “You sent the security videos to the geeks at the office, right?”
“They’ll be finished by tomorrow afternoon.”
John’s proclivity for strip clubs and possible adultery still didn’t give him a motive to hurt Madison and Kaylee. Kaylee had tried to blackmail Ricky; would she do the same thing to her friend’s father? What if John had gone after Kaylee and Madison had been collateral damage?
And where did Janelle Gomez fit into the picture, if she even fit at all? Maybe she really had been killed by someone else who’d been smart enough to use the current interest in Frost to cover his tracks.
John claimed he’d started hitting the strip club after the disappearance, but Nikki had her doubts. The Stillwater-Hudson area had at least ten so-called gentlemen’s clubs. Janelle working at John’s strip club of choice couldn’t be a coincidence.
“Dig into John’s extracurricular activity. Find out if he’s a frequent flyer anywhere else and if he’s really as hands-off as he says. Check public record and see if he and Amy have ever been legally separated or a motion filed. I want to know how good his marriage actually is, and neither one of them is going to be honest.”
“Any suggestions on where to start?”
“The strippers,” Nikki said. “He came to them for comfort and to get his ego fed. If he talked shit about Amy, he said it to them.”
Twenty-Six
Nikki reset the house alarm and headed to her bedroom. She’d decided to swing by the house after the visit to Roan Pharmaceuticals to get some clean clothes and then stop at Tyler’s to surprise Lacey.
Nikki wished she didn’t have to drive back to Stillwater. She’d kill for a night in her own bed. She sifted